Umphrey’s McGee continued their Wax On, Wax Off Tour on Friday at Stage AE in Pittsburgh. The prog-jam act welcomed saxophonist Casey Cranford of Big Something for a Rolling Stones cover and dusted off a pair of songs.
The six-piece act got their night in the Steel City going by unearthing “Drink My Drank.” Last night marked just the 14th ever take on the instrumental, which had sat untouched since June 16, 2017 – a span of 155 shows. The true rarity segued straight into “Plunger.” The South Bend-born band then looked to “Words” as the Bottom Half selection was delivered for the first time in 2019 and played for just the fourth in two and a half years. Setlist staples “Remind Me,” “Higgins” and “Partyin’ Peeps” rounded out their opening frame.
Cranford emerged with the rest of Umphrey’s to start their second set. The augmented ensemble paired up on The Rolling Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” as the Sticky Fingers cut was taken off the shelf for the first in exactly a year. The classic rock cover was followed by it’s not us track “Forks,” which made its way into the setlist for just the 25th time since it was debuted back in 2011. An expansive take on “Puppet String” came ahead of the pairing of “Night Nurse” and “Rocktopus” with old-school, fan-favorites “Example 1” and “JaJunk” bringing the stanza to a close. Umphrey’s McGee tapped “The Floor” as their lone encore in Pittsburgh.
Setlist
Set I: Drink My Drank > Plunger, Words, Remind Me, Higgins, Partyin’ Peeps
Set II: Can’t You Hear Me Knocking*, Forks, Puppet String, Night Nurse > Rocktopus, Example 1, JaJunk
Encore: The Floor
